Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Aug. 31, 2009
TWO NEW EXPRESS ROUTES TO U OF M
WILL LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER
MINNEAPOLIS – (Aug. 31) – Two new express bus routes serving the University of Minnesota will launch on Sept. 8, providing access to campus on weekdays for customers traveling from the north and northwest metro.
Metro Transit will operate Route 252 between the University of Minnesota and the 95th Avenue park and ride in Blaine. Maple Grove Transit will operate Route 789 between campus and Maple Grove Transit Station.
Route 252 will offer three morning and three afternoon rush-hour trips. Buses will pick up customers at the park and ride and travel non-stop on I-35W to the U of M.
Metro Transit is adding capacity at the Blaine park-and-ride facility with a new 550-space ramp. Construction of the ramp is being funded through the Urban Partnership Agreement, a federal-state partnership that aims to reduce traffic congestion in the Twin Cities.
Morning trips leave the park-and-ride facility at 7:08 a.m., 7:23 a.m. and 8:27 a.m. Return service to Blaine leaves Washington Avenue SE and Oak Street SE at 3:38 p.m., 4:37 p.m. and 5:37 p.m.
Route 789 will offer two morning and two afternoon rush-hour trips. Morning trips leave Maple Grove Transit Station at 7:07 a.m. and 8:07 a.m., operating on I-94 direct to campus. Return trips leave Washington Avenue SE and Oak Street SE at 4:40 p.m. and 5:40 p.m.
Travel time to campus for both routes is about 30 minutes.
The cash fare for each route is $3 each way, with discounts available for those customers who buy Go-To Cards or other advance-sale transit passes such as the U-Pass or Metropass.
For trip planning services, customers can speak with a transit expert at 612-373-3333 or use the interactive Trip Planner at metrotransit.org. Information about Route 789 also is available at maplegrovetransit.org.
Metro Transit is a service of the Metropolitan Council. In 2008, customers boarded its buses and trains nearly 82 million times, the highest annual ridership in 27 years.
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(Editors: For more information about the Metro Transit service, contact Bob Gibbons, director of customer services, at 612-349-7509 or robert.gibbons@metc.state.mn.us. For more information about the Maple Grove service, contact Mike Opatz, City of Maple Grove, at 763-494-6005 or mopatz@ci.maple-grove.mn.us.)
